TWTW: A "Slow" Week for NYC Bike Racing
After a few particularly hectic weekends of racing from Central Park to Pennsylvania this past weekend was a slow one on the TBD Race Calendar with no local skinny tire racing outside of the lumpy concrete loop that is the much-loved Kissena velodrome. Despite this sparse calendar the squad managed to fit in plenty of racing and riding across multiple states including our usual weekday racing festivities. Without further ado...
The Week That Was (TWTW)
The Rockleigh Criterium is a regular The Week That Was (TWTW) feature these days and with the first Series winding down the Thursday night racing on the opposite side of the GWB remains hotly contested following a recent change in the series leader. We had the usual TBD characters in attendance last week though we effectively lost Daghan on the third lap thanks to a mechanical that forced him to tail-gun in the hot tub zone the entire race. The pace was a lively 25.8 miles per hour (including the neutral laps) as the series contenders refused to let any breaks get too much of an advantage, setting the race up for another field sprint. Unfortunately while I was saving matches for the sprint the race was cut a few minutes short and I left too much ground to make up in the final two laps, finishing 14th. With one more race left to go perhaps we'll have one last shot at a successful Rockleigh breakaway before the 4th of July holiday and the transition to the second series of Thursday night racing (Rockleigh Crit Results).
Saturday was a game of 'red light - green light' with the weather but after a challenging and at times dark experience racing mountain bikes at Stewart Poison Ivy Mousetrap some of the squad decided to venture back on MTB's for the Lewis Morris Challenge on Sunday. Going into the race we knew the venue was pretty tame when it came to technical features. What we didn't know was that Lewis Morris features climbing... lots of climbing. For those of us with a well diagnosed 'climbing allergy' this equated to a tough day on the bike, especially with plenty of wet roots to deal with for the morning races. For myself and Clay, perhaps the least vertically inclined members of TBD, it was not a pretty performance though Daghan managed to overcome these challenges to snag an impressive fifth place finish in his mid-day race. More on his race to come later this week on the journal (Lewis Morris Challenge Results).
Cannot wait for @jacobfetty to analyze today's MTB race... pic.twitter.com/kqYgg1GTK3
— ToBeDetermined.cc 😉 (@TBDcycling) June 24, 2018
Meanwhile with no road racing to be had in New York City this weekend Steve headed a few hours North to the Greenfield Criterium. We had a great experience at the race last year and if anything this year managed to top that with positive vibes that lived up to the hype (honestly, the Twitter hype for Greenfield is unmatched). As part of the build up to Intelligentsia Cup Steve raced aggressively with some of the JAM Fund cyclocrossers but when the race stalled out leading into the field sprint he kept it conservative rather than risk a crash just a few weeks before we depart to the Windy City. For the NYC folks definitely put this race on your calendar for 2019 (Greenfield Criterium Results)
.@greenfieldcrit 3/4 is so lined out that guys are exiting turn 2 before the back of the field enters turn 1. #hype pic.twitter.com/TGTMeuEnuG
— Colin Reuter (@resultsboy) June 24, 2018
Based on social media it appears that the Greenfield Criterium only got spicier as the day proceeded with Ellen Noble snagging a bunch of primes and the Women's win before the final race of the day took place in typhoon-like conditions:
Just kidding this is the best hot route photo from @ccreuter #greenfieldcrit pic.twitter.com/KLHPb7L7nf
— Colin Reuter (@resultsboy) June 25, 2018
Last but not least there was track racing on offer at the Kissena Velodrome over the weekend for the New York State Track Championships. The weather played a bit of havoc with the schedule but Corey managed to venture onto the track for the first time in years where he mostly avoided a series of crashes that plagued his races and snagged 2nd in the scratch race. With his work schedule winding down for the summer expect to see more of the TBD colors at Kissena in the coming weeks.
Photo via Robert Lai on Facebook
READING, LINKS, RANDOM FACTS
“We don’t want other people to die. And there are people dying on their bikes all the time that aren’t part of any community so they don’t get any support. And we want to be able to be the voice for that" The New York Times discusses cycling activism in LA in 'Their Friend Died in a Hit-and-Run. Can They Take on Car Culture in Los Angeles?'
We may have already featured this in a previous TWTW but it is good enough that we're going to repeat it. A very thorough guide on chain cleaning and maintenance from Cycling Tips: 'Chain cleaning: A complete guide from lazy to obsessive'
Endurance athletes may be known for their mental strength, though for our money Alpinists take mental fortitude to another level, sometimes with unhappy results as in this article from Outside: 'The Last Days of Marc-André Leclerc'
This is a bit of self-promotion but women's racing and equality in cycling is one of the topics we are most passionate about. As such we would urge you to read Steve's TBD Journal entry from last week if you haven't already done so: 'A Bittersweet Day At The Race Avenue Crit'
One of those odd fragmented stories from the internet via the Verge: 'The Rock That Fell to Earth: How a meteorite hunter’s obsession took him from the mountains of Colorado, to the Bundy Ranch, and eventually landed him in jail'
Parting Shot
We leave you with our two favorite photos from the US National Championships this past weekend as Coryn Rivera took home the title that had alluded her in recent years in a thrilling finish that also featured regional favorite Emma White sweeping the U23 division by placing in the top 5 in all three disciplines (crazy!). Meanwhile on the Men's side the Brown brothers post-race hug after Jonny took home the win (on an aluminum bike - you don't need to spend a fortune on a race rig kids) gets our vote for the Men's race shot of the day.
A New York City based cyclist and sometimes photographer. Part adventure rider, part crit racer, and fully obsessed with an English bulldog named Winifred.
Instagram: @photorhetoric
E-mail: matthew@tobedetermined.cc
